Two Steps Behind
by theslytherinrose
Summary: Request for otterlymagic on tumblr: Lucius and Narcissa look on anxiously as Bellatrix meets the newborn Draco for the first time.


**A/N: otterlymagic wanted Lucissa and baby Draco with Bellatrix before her time in Azkaban, and so I decided on Bella's first time meeting Draco, which Lucius isn't sure is completely safe. The title is from the Def Leppard song, which I own at the same level I own HP: 0%.  
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"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Of course it is, darling. She'll see him sooner or later, so we might as well make it sooner and let them start getting to know one another. Don't you think?"

Lucius hesitated, but the longer Narcissa watched him with those wide blue eyes and that hopeful smile, the further he found his resolve wearing down, and at last, he sighed.

"Yes, you're right," he said. "It's only that… well, she's sort of the opposite of maternal, isn't she? Will she even want to be around him?"

Narcissa shrugged, lifting a hand to run it softly through Lucius's hair. "I'm certain she will. We have our differences, but Bella and I love each other. She'll want to know Draco."

"I just hope her opinion of me doesn't cancel that out."

"Nonsense." Carefully, Narcissa leaned forward where she sat on her husband's lap to kiss his nose, and Lucius raised his hand to brush her cheek.

"You can't tell me your sister likes me," he said. "I know better than that."

"She doesn't like most people. Don't take it personally."

"Cissy, you don't have to lie to spare me. She does speak fairly openly about how unqualified she believes I am to lead our missions and how I'm nowhere near her level of devoted to our cause."

"She's jealous because you're good at what you do." Narcissa leaned close and met Lucius's lips tenderly, laying her hand on his shoulder, and for a moment he forgot exactly what he'd been worried about a moment before. He rested his forehead against hers when she pulled back just enough to speak again. "I'm sure of it. There's no other reason for her not to like you, not that I can see."

"You might be somewhat biased, though," said Lucius, a grin sliding onto his lips.

"Are you saying I would let my bias cloud my judgment?" Narcissa teased, smiling at him.

" _I'm_ saying I wasn't prepared for whatever this is, and you two should stop before I become ill."

Lucius closed his eyes and let out a long sigh at the sound of the voice he most often heard cackling as its owner flicked her wand at unsuspecting captives.

"Nice to see you, too, Bella," he said, opening his eyes again as Narcissa slid off his lap and to her feet, brushing her skirt into alignment and then reaching for his hand to help him out of the rocking chair. He stood and gave her hand a squeeze, taking a step closer both to where she stood and the crib on her other side. A glance at the crib told him that the tiny boy within was still sound asleep, his face peaceful and his fist closed around the rattle with the snake-tail handle that Lucius had handed him an hour or so previously.

Bellatrix ignored Lucius's words, and when he returned his focus to her, he saw that she had started across the room toward them, watching Draco curiously. She paused beside the crib, resting her hands on its polished wooden edge and looking to her sister.

"He certainly doesn't have the Black features, does he?"

Lucius rolled his eyes. Narcissa sighed lightly and leaned over to lift Draco into her arms, holding him close.

"What did you expect?" she asked Bellatrix. "I don't have our family's hair, either. Mine's from Mother's side."

"Hm." Bellatrix stepped closer to her sister, her mouth pressed into a thin line as she watched her nephew closely. "He's so small. I do hope he'll become strong." She cast a glance at Lucius, who heard the unspoken insult in her words and folded his arms over his chest.

"You do realize he's less than a week old, don't you, Bella?" he asked. "And that he was born three weeks early? Give the boy a break."

"Yes, yes, I know," said Bellatrix, frowning at Lucius before shifting her focus to Narcissa. "I'm glad he's all right."

As uncomfortable as Lucius thought the words sounded, he also believed they were sincere. Though his relationship with his sister-in-law was antagonistic at the best of times, he knew Bellatrix genuinely cared about Narcissa and was aware of how much the Malfoys had wanted a child. He hoped this would lead her to be more inclined toward treating Draco decently.

"And how're you feeling?" Bellatrix asked Narcissa, reaching out with a tentativeness Lucius had never before seen her demonstrate to run her hand over Draco's hair.

"I'm well," said Narcissa. She watched her sister with a smile playing on the edges of her lips, and Lucius returned the expression when she glanced up at him. "Still rather tired, as he's been waking up hungry at all hours, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm surprised he's slept this long, actually."

"As am I," said Lucius. "We were trying to stay nearby, in case he woke."

"Don't you have the elf helping you?" asked Bellatrix. "If it's not doing enough, I can—"

"Bella, no," said Narcissa, shaking her head. "It's perfectly fine. We've been parents for three days. We want to be as involved as we can, at the moment."

Bellatrix shrugged, looking down at Draco once more. "As you wish. May I?"

She held out her hands, and Narcissa shifted Draco carefully into her sister's arms, though she didn't move even a centimeter backward, after she'd released her hold on her son. She kept her focus trained on him, and Lucius took another step toward Bellatrix on reflex.

An odd series of emotions played across Bellatrix's face in turn—wariness, curiosity, forced indifference. Finally, her expression softened slightly, a bit of something entering her dark eyes that looked entirely foreign on her but Lucius likened to happiness.

"He's…" Bellatrix trailed off, watching Draco and shifting one of her hands to reach for his with her index finger.

"He's precious," said Narcissa, her smile unhidden now.

"He is," admitted Bellatrix. She touched Draco's hand, still closed around the rattle, with her finger. He squirmed in her arms at the contact, his eyes remaining shut as his mouth opened in a long yawn.

 _So much for sleeping,_ thought Lucius. _Though I suppose it's good his nap lasted this long._

Suddenly, Draco moved his small arm, inadvertently smacking Bellatrix's hand hard with his rattle. Lucius caught his breath, expecting some form of explosive reaction from the boy's aunt, and a glance at his wife told him her thoughts had taken a similar turn, as Narcissa was watching her sister's face with her own eyes wide.

Bellatrix laughed.

Lucius blinked, certain that he was hallucinating, but the image before him did not change. His sister-in-law had begun to smile, for the first time he could recall when the expression did not come at someone else's expense. Narcissa's shoulders fell as she let out the breath she'd been holding.

"You know," said Bellatrix, "I may have been wrong. There's hope for this one, yet."

"Glad you think so," said Lucius flatly, but he couldn't completely hold back a smile. Perhaps Bellatrix would be better with Draco than he'd anticipated.

"We'll just make sure he learns his curses from me."

Lucius's smile fell away as quickly as it had formed. He opened his mouth to comment, but Narcissa slid closer to him, her posture more relaxed now that the situation had gone better than they'd planned. She reached for her hand and slipped his fingers through his.

"Let's just focus on now, hm?" Narcissa asked, running her thumb over the back of Lucius's hand. "There'll be plenty of time for you two to argue when Draco's older."

Bellatrix sighed irritably, but was still watching her nephew with more kindness than Lucius had ever seen her show toward anyone other than Narcissa, and he resolved not to pester her further. For now.


End file.
